Kristin Cavallari tells People.com that she and Mark expected the dating rumors. Dating gossip aside, they are excited to dance with one another. Mark says they are staying focused and “making the best performances” for their fans. Kristin also says the Quickstep has been challenging to learn, but, doesn’t think it’s worse than the Cha Cha last week. More below….

“I kind of expect [the dating rumors], to be honest,” she says. “But that’s what happens when you put two people together.”

Relationship gossip aside, the dancing duo is excited about what the season holds in the ballroom.

“I’m really proud of her progress,” Ballas says. “We’re focusing on the routines and making the best performances for our fans. We’re really grateful to them for voting for us.”

Cavallari, who says next week’s quickstep is “a little challenging,” is relieved because she doesn’t “think it’s going to be any worse than the cha cha.”

Also, Mark has penned his new first blog of the season for USA Today. He writes about the Cha Cha and how he’s confident Kristin has enough talent for her to place first Monday night. (Hmmm,…we’ll see about that, but, I kind of doubt it?)

The key word for this week is “QUICK.” It has been a very quick week of preparation and an even quicker (and exhausting) dance in the quickstep. Kristin and I really only have a few days to perfect our routine, whereas last week when we performed the cha-cha, we had weeks to practice.

The two dances are so different because with the cha-cha we danced apart and in the quickstep we are connected or in hold the entire dance, but I believe this will build Kristin’s confidence. The lack of time isn’t going to stop us from reaching our goal this week, either; quickstepping our way to the top of the leader board. Kristin and I finished 5th last week —a good start, but I feel that she has enough talent to finish first this week.

Kristin and Chelsea Kane (my dance partner from last season) have similar dance styles. They both are super-dedicated and coordinated and they also move their bodies in similar ways. Kristin has been catching on rapidly this week; however, there have been a few hurdles. That’s to be expected with the rigorous rehearsal, wardrobe fittings, camera blocking and interviews we’ve had this week.

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Just a music and dancing fan here ....and a lover of life, nature, animals, and spending as much time as possible camping in our travel trailer. Favorite Quote at the moment: "Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching, and live like it's heaven on earth." ~ William Purkey. Follow me at: Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud. To view my photography site, see Lisa Kay Photography.

Ellen Degeneres chatted with Val and Elisabetta today on her show. They start the interview talking about Elisabetta’s shoulder injury and how nervous she is for Monday night since their scores weren’t that good the first week. Ellen asks if she’s pressured more to dance because of the George Clooney break up. Val lighten’s the moment by saying HE is feeling pressured instead. LOL Here’s a clip. Stay tuned as we hope to have more footage of this interview soon.

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Just a music and dancing fan here ....and a lover of life, nature, animals, and spending as much time as possible camping in our travel trailer. Favorite Quote at the moment: "Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching, and live like it's heaven on earth." ~ William Purkey. Follow me at: Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud. To view my photography site, see Lisa Kay Photography.

This little crime against humanity is the brainchild of Courtney, who has a real way of bringing out the evil in me. 🙂 Those of you who heard cackling the other night? That was Courtney and I working on these little gems. If you are not familiar with lolcats at I can has cheeseburger, you will be a bit lost. You’ll catch on quickly. 😉

Courtney’s Note: Originally, these were just supposed to be a few fun visual aids for the cheesecake (which is still on its way, we promise!) – but as you can see, it took on a life of its own 🙂 I like to think of it as the smartass Cliff’s Notes version of DWTS – so if you missed this week’s episode or just don’t care enough to watch, this should keep you in-the-know…and hopefully chuckling like we were while we were creating them! We are warped…please don’t judge us…oh, and feel free to tweet ’em, use ’em as profile pix, post ’em on Facebook, etc. Just be sure to tell everyone where to find the knuckleheads that created ’em 😉

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I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)

USSoccerDotCom caught up with Hope and Maks at a soccer game this week to ask them on Dancing With The Stars. Hope comments about how nervous she was before the show like she is before a soccer game. Maks said she wasn’t nervous, but, “very focused”. Her dress rehearsal was flawless, but, everyone came up to her afterwards and asked her if she ever smiles. It’s funny because Hope says her training for soccer helped her to concentrate on her dance Monday night, but, Maks quickly chimes for how different they are. This is “only the first round” (a warning of how tough things are going to get if they stick around). Maks talks of how great he felt with their performance as well. Hope says she really didn’t lighten up a little to dance until she talked to her soccer mates and friends right before she stepped out on stage. They ask her on her dress and she said Maks designed it (I LOVED HER DRESS, did you? It was my favorite!). They talk of how they are dancing the Jive Monday night, but, Maks says Week 3 is when things will get really interesting because all of the couples will only have 4 days to learn a dance. That’s when we’ll find out who will stay and who will go. Great interview!

Maks has also written a new blog at TV Guide. He talks of he and Hope’s dance last week. He also prepares us for their upcoming Jive and tells us his thoughts on some of the couples. Below is a take. For the full blog, be sure to see the link.

We started the jive prior to the premiere, so we should be good. I’m very happy about the way it’s going right now. I think the biggest challenge with Hope is not just learning the routine, but she needs to learn how to act it out. I know she’s not used to acting and faking it — which is what acting is. I want her to know it’s not bad faking it, like you’re not being true to yourself. It’s part of a performance. If you want to be the best at it, then you have to do certain things to make you the best at it. Acting is part of it.

I thought everyone did great this week. I’m super happy for Val. Congratulations to him for his debut! I was worried about him and Elisabetta. She’s awesome, but she did get a little stiff. Hopefully she will take all the positive things out of this show and use it to her advantage in the second week. I think the quickstep will be a better dance for them and they’ll both learn from the first week. I think Val has a difficult job because Elisabetta is fairly new to this country. Fan base-wise, they’ll probably have a more difficult time. Everybody else on the show has a following here. I went on a campaign Monday night to rally some of my troops to help Val and Elisabetta out and I’m extremely grateful because I think they did a tremendous job keeping both of us on the show. Obviously, I’m first and foremost focused on Hope, but the longer Val stays, the more fun we’ll have. I just want to enjoy the process. I think if audiences embrace her and give her a chance, they will see a lot of growth. Having said that, it’s also a matter of how well they do and how they sparkle and shine. I think they have potential. Val is phenomenal. I’m his biggest fan. They did an awesome routine. I thought the bed idea was hilarious. I loved his respond to Tom Tuesday: “I just wanted to take my shirt off and get in bed.” I love it!

Carson’s performance was also great. He’s very cool. He’s a bit partial toward me and I gave him a shoulder rub. He’s just perfect for this show. He’s super funny, very witty, very clever, very entertaining, and what else do you need from a celebrity on Dancing with the Stars? You want a celebrity who’s secure with themselves, is not afraid to put up a performance, has performing qualities, and does their own thing. And that’s him. I’m not going to lie — and this may come off as me patting myself on the back — but I’m flattered because you have Nancy Grace going, “You’re not Maks,” to Tristan and Carson talking about me, and I’m so honored by that. It really does make me feel like dance is making it higher and higher. I’m still true to my trade. I’m not trying to be the center of attention at all, and I think getting recognized by such people like these is a huge responsibility, but also a huge honor. I’m blessed and having fun.

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Just a music and dancing fan here ....and a lover of life, nature, animals, and spending as much time as possible camping in our travel trailer. Favorite Quote at the moment: "Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching, and live like it's heaven on earth." ~ William Purkey. Follow me at: Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud. To view my photography site, see Lisa Kay Photography.

The Dancing With The Stars Make-Up Team has posted a fantastic new gallery from Week one! You can see the cast posing backstage and getting their make-up done. Below are a couple of takes, but, be sure to visit this LINK for more in case you don’t see your favorite celebrities or dancers below.

Oksana after her make-up was done. Aren’t her eyes beautiful?

Ricki and Carson look like they are savoring every moment even in Make-up! (There is a picture with Derek too goofing around with Ricki and Elisabetta, but, the photo is blurry. Be sure to see it at the above link)

Kym and Maks givng good face as always!

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Just a music and dancing fan here ....and a lover of life, nature, animals, and spending as much time as possible camping in our travel trailer. Favorite Quote at the moment: "Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching, and live like it's heaven on earth." ~ William Purkey. Follow me at: Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud. To view my photography site, see Lisa Kay Photography.

Just a quick update on the themes planned for Dancing With The Stars Season 13. Broadway World via Entertainment Weekly has reported there will a “Broadway Week” as well as “1980’s Week” and “Halloween Week”. I know how much you all like “theme” weeks. lol Actually, I think Broadway Week and “1980’s Week” doesn’t sound too bad.

According to Entertainment Weekly, amongst the theme weeks for the upcoming new season of DANCING WITH THE STARS will be a Broadway week! Stay tuned to BroadwayWorld.com for information on what week it will be as it’s announced. Also on the agenda – Halloween and the 1980s!

Also, according to Gloria Estefan’s official site, she will be performing on Dancing with the stars on October 18th. Correct me if I’m wrong, but, I think this will make her third appearance on the show. Thanks to PureDWTS reader Carlos for this news!! Remember this?

ADDIING: And Demetria Lovato and The Script will be performing this upcoming week on the Results show according to this tweet…

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Just a music and dancing fan here ....and a lover of life, nature, animals, and spending as much time as possible camping in our travel trailer. Favorite Quote at the moment: "Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching, and live like it's heaven on earth." ~ William Purkey. Follow me at: Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud. To view my photography site, see Lisa Kay Photography.

Even though J.R. was exhausted from several weeks of rehearsals and dancing on Dancing With The Stars, he travelled to Tennessee to talk about how he broke through a “dark place” after the severe burns he suffered from in Iraq. He explains in detail below for how it happened and how he found his life’s purpose afterwards. So touching. Listen below…

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Just a music and dancing fan here ....and a lover of life, nature, animals, and spending as much time as possible camping in our travel trailer. Favorite Quote at the moment: "Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching, and live like it's heaven on earth." ~ William Purkey. Follow me at: Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud. To view my photography site, see Lisa Kay Photography.

Yesterday, Chynna Phillips and hubby, Billy Baldwin, were guests on The Talk! Billy talks about playing Frank Delano on the new season of “Hawaii Five-0” (I love that show!) and Chynna Phillips talks about Dancing With The Stars. Billy tells mother Kardashian that he wasn’t happy when Rob described Chynna as an “attractive older woman”. He’d rather have her be called “hot” because they are not “old”. They comment how Chynna has the talent to go all the way on Dancing With The Stars while reviving her career. Chynna loves Tony and said she has the best partner! More below.

ADDING: And here is Chynna and Tony on Access Hollywood today….

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Just a music and dancing fan here ....and a lover of life, nature, animals, and spending as much time as possible camping in our travel trailer. Favorite Quote at the moment: "Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching, and live like it's heaven on earth." ~ William Purkey. Follow me at: Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud. To view my photography site, see Lisa Kay Photography.